Fred VanVleet scores just enough for Raptors to hold off Pistons

It wasn’t all that long ago when the concern was Fred VanVleet couldn’t make a three-point shot to save his soul. Whenever anyone pointed out his struggles, the veteran Raptors point guard would smile wryly, shrug his shoulders a bit and roll his eyes a little.

Not to worry, he’d say, I know what kind of shooter I am, what kind of player I am and, when it’s all said and done, things are going to be fine.

Everyone hopefully took him at his word. VanVleet equalled a season high with six three-pointers, part of a 35-point performance, in the Raptors’ 119-118 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday afternoon.

It was his fifth game of more than 30 points in his last 15 outings, and the fourth time in six games he had made more than three threes in a game. He looks like the VanVleet fans have come to know.

“Yeah, believe it or not,” he said, when it was pointed out that he is still an elite NBA shooter. “Surprise, surprise.”

VanVleet is back to where he's always been as an NBA offensive threat, able to knock down three-pointers, get to the rim and draw contact, and initiate a Raptors offence that has found its groove in the last three weeks. He had eight assists against just one turnover in a terrific offensive performance Sunday.

“(It’s) staying locked in, keep working, get my legs under me, finding ways to get the shots,” he said. “I think I had to adjust again to the way defences (were) playing me, and the way we were playing offensively.

“Tonight, being able to get three catch-and-shoots right out of the gate, I think that helps a lot. It depends game to game, it’s not always going to go my way but got to take advantage when I get the chances.”

VanVleet and Pascal Siakam combined for 63 points and 14 assists as Toronto’s best players dominated the lowly Pistons, who fell to 15-43 with the loss.

And Toronto’s two veterans made it easier for fill-in Raptors coach Adrian Griffin, who served as the head coach with Nick Nurse away tending to a personal issue.

“I was joking but I wasn’t joking when I walked in the locker room after the game; they were cheering me and I said, ‘Thanks for helping me coach the game tonight,’ ” Griffin said of VanVleet and Siakam. “Freddy was awesome calling a lot of plays and sets on the offensive end, same with Pascal.”

It’s unclear how long Nurse will be away from the team but Griffin is a more-than-capable substitute. He has run a few games by himself over the years alongside Nurse, so it’s not entirely new to him and he’s got the backing of the team’s veterans.

“I’m not going to take the credit for Griff, man,” VanVleet said. “He did a great job stepping in for Coach and I thought he was very prepared and communicated very well for us, it’s always a collaborative effort.”

The Raptors needed every one of VanVleet’s points and all that collaboration because of another suspect fourth-quarter defensive showing that almost cost them the game.

After spitting up a game Friday night by allowing Utah to score 39 points in the fourth quarter, Toronto gave up 41 in the fourth to the Pistons on Sunday.

“You’ve got to expect it’s going to be a hard-fought game,” Griffin said. “Even in the first half, when we were up a point, you can feel the tension in the building like we’re supposed to be up 20.

“This is the NBA, every win and every game is going to be hard-fought and tough, and I thought our guys were resilient.”

The players didn’t want to answer more questions about a collapse.

“We just gotta bounce back, man,” VanVleet said. “That (Friday loss) was a stinker, that one hurt. After the deadline, didn’t make much moves, brought (Jakob Poeltl) in and played three quarters of good basketball, and kind of (crapped) the bed there in the fourth. So that hurt. Everyone was frustrated for sure, but the game goes on.

“(The Pistons) want to kick our butts, too, so we got to keep focused and stay focused on the games in front of us and pile them up as best as we can.”

Doug Smith is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @smithraps